Whatcom Hills Waldorf School

941 Austin Street

Bellingham, WA 98229

9 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by principal on February 13, 2019

I am an alumni parent of three sons who went through this school from pre-K to 8th grade. After having six years away from the school after my youngest graduated, I was asked to come back as their enrollment coordinator. I loved the school when my children were there, and I love it now... maybe even more. It is more poignant now that I can look back on it. I see what my adult children received from their time there. Apart from a solid education, and an incredible sense of community, they came away with an ability to think critically and creatively about things. They also carry a deep love for the planet and humanity. A child with a good education is a great, but a child with a good education and a lot of heart is greater.I have read through the reviews on this site, as I should being in my present position at the school, and I was sad to see some of the comments about a perceived deterioration of the school and programs, lack of community, and an exclusivism that denies children with challenging learning styles. I can speak from authority that, at the moment, the school is in the strongest position that I have ever seen in all the years of my connection with it. Enrollment is at an all time high, with wait list for the early childhood classes, the administration is involved, competent and caring, there is a pedagogical committee and pedagogical head that work with all the issues that any school may experience, and children that have learning challenges are always considered. Our main aim is to be honest about being able to serve a child's needs. Our teachers hold degrees as well as a Waldorf teacher training degree, but we do not have on site remedial teachers. It is something that we are striving for in the future. As such, we have to be honest about our limitations. We work closely with private and public school remedial teachers that come in every day to work with our children. The one thing Waldorf education really does understand, is that every child holds unique gifts, and that the world needs all of them. Not everyone can be a CEO or an academic. The teachers are trained to honor each child. If they love learning, it will last a lifetime. I hope that if you are considering Waldorf education, that you come see it for yourself. Take a tour, see the classes for yourself and ask questions. That is the best way to know if it is right for your family.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2015

At first I was taken by all the hype about the school. I believed the lie. I really fell for the illusion they present of a community that cares about and nurtures children in a safe environment. The problem is that under the illusion there is a lot of back biting among the staff and a gate keeper mentality. Under the illusion of community and a desire for economic diversity there is class-ism. Under the illusion of acceptance there is discrimination and ableism. I promise that if your child has a intellectual or learning disability they will push your child off on the public school for services which negates the whole purpose of going there or they will deny them admissions because "they cannot serve the child" or they believe "the child's disabilities will distract from the other children". The truth is that non of the teachers hold real education degrees. They go to Steiner College and only know that style of teaching and theories of learning. The gate keepers do not want intellectual diversity and abide in ableism. They talk out of both sides of their mouth when confronted about this issue. I pulled my son out of there when they denied a high functioning autistic child admission based on the fact that she could not count to ten verbally and refused to test her so that the child could show that she could count in writing. They want all the children to fit into their ideal Waldorf child. Thus, if you cannot count to ten verbally but can write your numbers to 100 you will be denied admission by the gate keepers. I do not recommend this school if you want your child to grow up to be emphatic to those that are different than the IDEAL WALDORF CHILD.
Submitted by parent on March 29, 2014

We have been at Whatcom Hills for two years now. We are thrilled with the school. Our child loves it. It is a magical place. There is a lot of work involved for the parents but I think it is well worth it. I don't think there is any school with 100% parent satisfaction but I am very happy with the school and so is my child. The teachers really seem to care about the school and its students. They may be going through some changes and even dropped some classes but do they really need TWO foriegn languages? They do still have woodworking and many other "extra" classes you wont find in public schools.
Submitted by parent on January 10, 2014

I've been a parent at this school for four years and I've noticed a clear deterioration of the school in general and the teaching in particular. Constant talk of financial difficulties and reduced programs combined with low teacher morale show signs of rapidly deteriorating organization. There seems to be no clear future and extremely low morals. This will be my last year.
Submitted by parent on December 04, 2013

I noticed that several of the positive reviews are the EXACT SAME review as the Seattle Waldorf school. Is it possible that theses positive reviews are actually seeded. Could a school stoop that low?
Submitted by parent on November 15, 2012

I value the Waldorf School's focus on the individual needs of the child and its efforts to educate our children to be balanced human beings. Also I appreciate the Schools efforts to foster an appreciation of the true,the good and the beautiful in the world and in themselves.
Submitted by parent on November 05, 2012

I've been a parent at WHWS for over 10 years. I am the proud parent of a high school graduate, high school sophomore and eighth grader. WHWS is a school that nurtures the whole child while at the same time providing a rich and comprehensive curriculum that creates life long learners. I'm so proud that my children have been to attend WHWS and I'm grateful for the community that is provides for our family.
Submitted by parent on November 05, 2012

My two daughter have absolutely loved the school. The have both attended since kindergarten and have thrived. I was concerned because both of their reading skills lagged somewhat behind the metrics set up by the publice school system and as I was told, they would read when they were ready. By 4th grade my older daughter was a voracious reader and finished the entire Harry Potter series in one summer. She has far surpassed all public school standards and best of all she did it on her own without anyone forcing her to read using an arbitrary timeline. We held our youngest daughter back one extra year in kindergarten because we felt she was not ready. The extra time was instrumental in her development. She now thrives in class and truly loves her classmates and her teacher.
Submitted by parent on October 30, 2012

I am an educator by trade and have children who love coming here everyday. This is a school where childhood matters, and play is taken seriously by the preschool and kindergarten teachers. Great care is taken to provide beautiful spaces, build social skills and foster creative minds who happily problem solve how to build a fort, sail a pirate ship or be a family of wolves with four other friends. We love that the school community supports our family values of a non-commercial, low-media childhood with lots of time outdoors. We reap the benefits of Waldorf when we see our children being kind to others, working in the garden and being entertained for hours making things with their own hands. The non-academic Kindergarten has somehow fostered the intellectual mind of our second grade child. His passion for reading books is clearly inspired by listening to all those increasingly complex stories. He reads with "voice", has an appreciation for a good story, recalls well and his comprehension is at a fourth grade level. He's a visual learner, so the experiential methods and use of manipulatives in learning math processes works well. We love how learning happens in context.
Submitted by parent on September 18, 2012

My husband and I were skeptical before we came to this school, but after five years at the school we are very, very happy with the education our daughter is receiving. The education is quite similar to the highly successful program taught in the Finnish schools, and the teachers, parents, and other students form a wonderful community that's surprisingly diverse. I thought we'd have trouble fitting in, and frankly we don't fit it, but we're accepted, respected, and involved anyway. It's okay to be ourselves. We're especially pleased with the school's focus on using children's strongest desires as a way of teaching them -- teaching math through movement, foreign language through singing, things like that. The children absolutely love going to school, and come home with so much knowledge and wisdom, and are respectful, thoughtful, and artistic too. I just wish there were a Waldorf high school in Bellingham.